Second person dies in Legionnaires' disease outbreak on Upper East Side

John Annese, New York Daily News on Jul 19, 2026

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A second person has died from the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on the Upper East Side, city health department officials announced Sunday.

So far, 72 people have been affected by the outbreak, with 50 of them needing hospitalization, according to health department officials. Nine remain hospitalized, as Health Commissioner Alister Martin announced that the source of the disease’s spread appears to have been eliminated.

“While we mourn this loss, the data are also encouraging,” Martin said Sunday. “Our aggressive strategy of testing, enforcement, and remediation appears to have stopped the source of exposure.”

Martin did not offer details on the disease victim’s identity.

“We directed every building with an initial positive test result to immediately clean and disinfect its cooling tower, and every one has completed that work,” Martin said. “We have also reminded cooling tower operators across the city of their summertime requirement to increase use of biocides that kill Legionella bacteria.”

City Council Speaker Julie Menin, whose district includes the affected area, criticized Martin earlier this month for not ordering more proactive measures to combat the disease’s spread.

“I am heartbroken to learn that a second person has died in connection with the Legionnaires’ disease cluster on the Upper East Side,” Menin said in a social media post Sunday morning. “As our community grapples with this outbreak, every possible step must be taken to protect New Yorkers and prevent any further loss of life.”

Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria. Most people exposed don’t become sick and the disease is spread through the inhalation of water vapor. It is not spread from person to person.

Symptoms typically develop two to 14 days after exposure and include fever, chills, muscle aches, shortness of breath and coughing. According to the city Department of Health, “It remains safe to shower, drink tap water and use air conditioners in the affected zip codes.”

The disease is fatal in about 10% of cases and is most dangerous for those above age 50 or with compromised immune systems.

A screening of 180 buildings on the Upper East Side found Legionella bacteria, the microbe responsible for spreading the disease, in at least 76 buildings with cooling towers — including the Guggenheim Museum, the Trevor Day School on E. 95th St., and 1110 Fifth Ave., a luxury apartment building overlooking Central Park designed by renowned architect James Edwin Ruthven Carpenter Jr.

A Legionnaires’ outbreak last summer in Harlem killed seven people and sickened more than 100.

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